Option A: Databases

Objectives:

A.1 Basic Concepts

A.1.1Outline the differences between data and information.
A.1.2Outline the differences between an information system and a database.
A.1.3Discuss the need for databases.
A.1.4Describe the use of transactions, states and updates to maintain data consistency (and integrity).
A.1.5Define the term database transaction.
A.1.6Explain concurrency in a data sharing situation.
A.1.7Explain the importance of the ACID properties of a database transaction.
A.1.8Describe the two functions databases require to be performed on them.
A.1.9Explain the role of data validation and data verification.

A.2 The Relational Database Model

A.2.1Define the terms: database management system (DBMS) and relational database management system (RDBMS).
A.2.2Outline the functions and tools of a DBMS.
A.2.3Describe how a DBMS can be used to promote data security.
A.2.4Define the term schema.
A.2.5Identify the characteristics of the three levels of the schema: conceptual, logical, physical.
A.2.6Outline the nature of the data dictionary.
A.2.7Explain the importance of a data definition language in implementing a data model
A.2.8Explain the importance of data modelling in the design of a database
A.2.9Define the following database terms: table, record, field, primary key, secondary key, foreign key, candidate key, composite primary key, join.
A.2.10Identify the different types of relationships within databases: one-toone, one-to-many, many-to-many.
A.2.11Outline the issues caused by redundant data.
A.2.12Outline the importance of referential integrity in a normalized database.
A.2.13Describe the differences between 1st Normal Form (1NF), 2nd Normal Form (2NF) and 3rd Normal Form (3NF).
A.2.14Describe the characteristics of a normalized database.
A.2.15Evaluate the appropriateness of the different data types.
A.2.16Construct an entity-relationship diagram (ERD) for a given scenario.
A.2.17Construct a relational database to 3NF using objects such as tables, queries, forms, reports and macros.
A.2.18Explain how a query can provide a view of a database.
A.2.19Describe the difference between a simple and complex query.
A.2.20Outline the different methods that can be used to construct a query.

A.3 Further Aspects of Database Management

A.3.1Explain the role of a database administrator.
A.3.2Explain how end-users can interact with a database.
A.3.3Describe different methods of database recovery.
A.3.4Outline how integrated database systems function.
A.3.5Outline the use of databases in areas such as stock control, police records, health records, employee data.
A.3.6Suggest methods to ensure the privacy of the personal data and the responsibility of those holding personal data not to sell or divulge it in any way.
A.3.7Discuss the need for some databases to be open to interrogation by other parties (police, government, etc).
A.3.8Explain the difference between data matching and data mining.

HL Extension: A.4 Further Database Models and Database Analysis

A.4.1Describe the characteristics of different database models.
A.4.2Evaluate the use of object-oriented databases as opposed to relational databases.
A.4.3Define the term data warehouse.
A.4.4Describe a range of situations suitable for data warehousing.
A.4.5Explain why data warehousing is time dependent.
A.4.6Describe how data in a warehouse is updated in real time.
A.4.7Describe the advantages of using data warehousing.
A.4.8Explain the need for ETL processes in data warehousing.
A.4.9Describe how ETL processes can be used to clean up data for a data warehouse.
A.4.10Compare the different forms of discovering patterns using data mining.
A.4.11Describe situations that benefit from data mining.
A.4.12Describe how predictive modelling is used.
A.4.13Explain the nature of database segmentation.
A.4.14Explain the nature and purpose of link analysis
A.4.15Describe the process of deviation detection.